Bowerman Wiki
Welcome to the Bowerman Family History This Bowerman Family wiki was created to document and tell the story of the Bowerman Family tracing its known origin as "Bowreman" in 15th century at the Isle of Wight, England. Some of the name variations that stem from this line are: Bowerman, Bowreman, Boarman, Bourman, Boardman, and Boreman. Bowerman Family Crest The family crest appears on a shield of Ermine fur, a small white weasel which was a heraldic symbol of dignity. At the top is a goat's head, indicating a family who wins through politics rather than war. The shield has three yellow boar's heads meaning hospitality and generosity. And the color red in the head piece indicates that the family is of the warrior class. Name Origins and Pronunciation The name "Bowerman" is said to be Anglo-Saxon and originally given to the person who was the bowerman, the servant who attended the inner room in the castle called the bower; however, the way the name "Bowerman" was spelled and pronounced may indicate a different origin. Names were more often than not subject to various spellings due to phonetic interpretation. The earliest known Bowerman connected to this family is Lord Thomas Bowreman (c 1440), lord of the Manor Brook, Isle of Wight, England. Lord Thomas spelled his name "Bowreman". Within five generations of Lord Thomas, his descendants were using the names Bowerman, Bourman, Boarman and Boreman. The key to understanding the spelling deviations is the pronunciation. The first syllable of "Bowerman" rhymed with "boar", though today we mostly pronounce it as if it rhymes with "sour". The spelling variations are indicative of the pronunciation, and potentially, of the true origin of the name as being associated with "boars". This is reinforced by the account from 1499, when King Henry VII visited Lord Thomas and his wife Dame Joan Bowreman at the Manor of Brook and was pleased with their hospitality. With the family coat of arms including three yellow boar's heads, an indication of the hospitality and generosity for which the family was known, a convincing argument can be made that "Bowerman" derived from "Boar-man". Brook Manor Brook is a scenic village on the southwest coast of the Isle of Wight, an is land south of the English mainland across from the New Forest. The villiage faces the English Channel and is well known for its rugged beauty and ancient burial barrows. Consisting of a series of cottages, small farms, and a coast guard station, Brook is an ancient parish of the Church of England that centered around St. Mary's Church and a large estate called Brook Manor which is mentioned in the Domesday Book - the survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1085. In 1445, John Roucle, lord of the Manor of Brook, gave half of the manor to three men, one of whom was Thomas Bowreman. After Thomas married John's sister, Joan Roucle, the two other land holders released their claims to the land leaving Bowreman the sole owner. Joan outlived Thomas and passed the manor to her grandson, Nicho las (son of Thomas), when she died in 1503. Nicholas died in 1559 leaving the manor to his son and heir, William. William acquired the other half of the manor restoring the original estate. In 1580, his son Thomas inherited the manor and subsequently left it to his son William, who was one of the judges of the Knighten Court in 1625. Thomas, the son and successor of William, was a member of Parliament for Newport in 1658 and died in 1677. His second son, John, succeeded to the manor, conveying it in 1688 to his son William. The manor passed in the direct line of the Bowreman family until 1792, when William Bowerman sold it to Henry Howe. The original manor house was rebuilt on the same location in the early 1700's. Subsequent owners have enlarged and remodeled it over the years. It exists today as an inn called Brook House (http://www.brookhouseiow.co.uk/index.html). St. Mary's Church in Brook sits on top the village Brook and was originally established in the 13th century. Its history is closely tied to the Bowreman family. While much of the church had to be rebuilt following a fire in 1863, the north chapel, which was erected by William Bowerman i n the middle of the 18th century, remains. William also donated a communion plate, consisting of flagon, chalice and paten in 1717. There were several Bowreman's who served as rector of the parish including Rev. T homas Bowreman, who served as rector for 35 years and died in 1844 at the age of 69. He was the last of the Bowreman line in that parish and was memorialized by a brass plaque. As one would expect for a family that held an estate for 400 years, the British National Archives contain much material relating to the Bowremans including: deeds of gifts and leases, papers concerning their genealogy, extracts from parish registers, notes recording names of family members with respective dates of baptism, marriage and burial, and a narrative account of the descent of the manor. Perhaps the most famous story relates to the social visit that King Henry VII paid to Dame Joan Bowreman in 1499. It is said that he was so pleased with the entertainment and hospitality shown, that he gave her his drinking horn and a warrant to receive a fat buck from the Carisbrooke forest each year of her life. King Charles I The Bowreman family and the Isle of Wight played a role in the imprisonment of King Charles I. With the civil war going badly for the King, he decided to seek sanctuary at the Isle of Wight from the governor of the Isle, Robert Hammond, who was a brother to the King's chaplain. But when the King presented himself to Hammond, the governor did not receive him as expected. Apparently, Hammond was not the royalist that his brother led the King to believe, but was, in fact, in the process of turning his alliance to Oliver Cromwell. At first, Hammond treated Charles as an honored guest, allowing him the freedom of the island, but after a failed attempt to escape, Hammond decided to treat the King as a prisoner and turned him over to the capable Captain Thomas Bowreman who would guard the King at Carisbrooke Castle. Over the course of the next nine months, Charles and his allies attempted escape on several occasions using various means - once climbing down a rope of sheets and another pouring nitric acid on his bars - all to no effect. In September of 1648, the King had been tried and condemned to death, so Bowreman turned King Charles over to his executioners at Whitehall, London where he was executed a few months later. Category:Browse